JP2019069744A - Remote controller - Google Patents

Abstract

To perform optimal travelling control by reflecting intentions of an operator.SOLUTION: A remote controller 1 includes: a speed command unit for commanding target speed of a vessel; and a revolution speed command adjustment unit 12 for adjusting a revolution speed command signal for an engine sought based on difference between the target speed and present speed of the vessel according to at least one index of load amount, weight and depth of draft of the vessel.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote control device for remotely controlling the speed of a ship such as a ship.

  In a ship, when the control lever is moved to a predetermined position, a control mode in which the number of revolutions per unit time of the engine is linearly changed until the speed corresponding to the position is reached is often prepared in advance.

  In this type of operation mode, the amount of change in the number of revolutions per unit time is fixedly set in advance, taking into consideration the load on the engine, fuel consumption, speed, etc. in a comprehensive manner. Is often not changeable.

JP 2009-202644

  However, when sailing by ship, there are various requirements for navigation, such as when you want to save fuel as much as possible or when you want to go at a speed as fast as possible. Therefore, when the above-described operation mode is selected, the fuel consumption and the speed may not be as expected. However, when the user manually navigates without selecting the above-mentioned operation mode, the operator must operate the operation lever diligently, which increases the load on the operator.

  The present invention provides a remote control device capable of performing optimal travel control while reflecting the driver's intention.

In order to solve the above-mentioned subject, in one mode of the present invention, speed commanding part which commands target speed of a vessel, and
The engine speed command signal adjusted based on the difference between the target speed and the ship's current speed is adjusted according to at least one indicator of ship load, weight, or draft depth. And a remote control device.

  The rotation speed command signal may be a signal for adjusting the amount of change per unit time of the rotation speed of the engine.

  The rotation speed command adjustment unit may adjust the rotation speed command signal so that the change amount becomes smaller as the loading amount or weight of the ship increases or as the depth of the draft increases. .

A maximum change amount setting unit configured to set a maximum change amount of the rotation speed according to the at least one index;
The rotation speed command adjustment unit may adjust the rotation speed command signal within a range not exceeding the maximum change amount of the rotation speed according to the loading amount, weight, or draft depth of the ship.

  The rotation speed command adjustment unit may narrow the adjustment range of the change amount as the loading amount or weight of the ship increases.

A mode selection unit for selecting one of a first priority mode in which speed is prioritized over the fuel consumption of the ship and a second priority mode in which fuel consumption is prioritized over the speed of the ship;
When the first priority mode is selected, the rotation speed command adjustment unit is configured to make the amount of change of the rotation speed of the engine per unit time larger than when the second priority mode is selected. The rotational speed command signal may be adjusted.

  When the second priority mode is selected, the rotation speed command adjustment unit is configured to make the amount of change of the rotation speed of the engine per unit time larger than when the first priority mode is selected. The engine speed command signal may be adjusted, and the fuel injection amount of the engine may be controlled to be constant.

The mode selection unit is configured to adjust the change amount of the engine speed per unit time until the target speed is reached, or the change amount of the engine speed per unit time is constant. It is possible to select the second operation mode to be
The mode selection unit can select the first priority mode or the second priority mode when selecting the first steering mode.
When the second steering mode is selected, the rotation speed command adjustment unit changes the rotation speed of the engine per unit time without depending on the load, weight or draft depth of the ship. The rotation number command signal may be adjusted to be constant.

The second maneuvering mode is selected when the vessel is traveling within a predetermined range from the port,
The first maneuvering mode may be selected when the vessel is navigating from a port out of the predetermined range.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to adjust the specific control content when selecting the control mode.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an engine control system provided with a remote control device according to one embodiment. The graph which shows the time change of the setting revolving speed of the engine. The figure which shows the variable range of variation | change_quantity of rotation speed at the time of 50% of load amount. The figure which shows the variable range of variation | change_quantity of rotation speed at the time of 80% of load amount. The figure which shows the variable range of variation | change_quantity of rotation speed at the time of 100% of loading amount. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the remote control device according to the present embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an engine control system 2 provided with a remote control device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Although the remote control device 1 and the engine control system 2 of FIG. 1 control the engine of a ship, the remote control device 1 and the engine control system 2 according to the present embodiment can be applied to any vehicle equipped with an engine It is. In the present invention, the engine includes one driven by a motor in addition to the engine rotated by fuel. That is, the ship of the present invention also includes an electric propulsion ship. In the following description, a ship for transporting cargo (a cargo carrier) will be described as an example.

  An engine control system 2 of FIG. 1 includes a remote control device 1 (also referred to as a remote controller), an engine controller 3 and an engine 4. The remote control device 1 is provided, for example, in a bridge or an engine control room of a ship. The engine controller 3 is provided, for example, in an engine control room. The remote control device 1 sends to the engine controller 3 a command signal for commanding start, stop, reverse rotation, setting of the rotational speed, etc. of the engine 4. The engine controller 3 controls the engine 4 based on a command signal from the remote control device 1.

  The remote control device 1 includes a control lever (speed command unit) 5, an input unit 6, a draft meter 7, a data storage unit 8, a display unit 9, and a control unit 10. The control lever 5 instructs the engine 4 to start, stop, reverse, and rotate. When the control lever 5 is operated to a predetermined position, a rotational speed command signal is sent to the engine controller 3 so that the speed corresponding to that position is obtained. The input unit 6 selects the operation mode and the like. The draft meter 7 is a device for measuring the loading capacity of a ship (the amount of cargo loaded on the ship) or the weight (the weight of the entire ship including ballast water etc. in addition to the cargo). When the load is a fluid, the flow rate is included in the load, and in the case of a container ship, the number of containers is also included in the load. The control unit 10 detects the load or weight of the ship based on the measurement signal from the draft meter 7. The data storage unit 8 stores various data required to control the engine 4. Specific data stored in the data storage unit 8 will be described later. The display unit 9 displays various information necessary for the navigation of the ship. The display unit 9 may be one or more.

  The control unit 10 has a mode selection unit 11 and a rotation speed command adjustment unit 12. Among the modes selectable by the mode selection unit 11, there is a first maneuvering mode in which the amount of change per unit time of the number of revolutions of the engine 4 is adjusted until the ship reaches the target speed. The target velocity is the velocity commanded by the control lever 5. The mode selection unit 11 performs mode selection based on the information input or selected by the operator at the input unit 6. Alternatively, the mode selection unit 11 may automatically select a specific maneuver mode when a specific condition is satisfied. The mode selection unit 11 may be able to select the second maneuvering mode in which the amount of change in the number of revolutions of the engine 4 per unit time is constant. In addition, the mode selection unit 11 may be able to select the third maneuvering mode in which the number of revolutions of the engine 4 is controlled to be constant. Hereinafter, an example in which the mode selection unit 11 can arbitrarily select at least the first to third steering modes will be described.

  The rotation speed command adjustment unit 12 generates a rotation speed command signal of the engine 4 obtained based on the difference between the target speed of the ship and the current speed of the ship, at least one of the load, weight, or draft depth of the ship. Adjust according to the indicator. The rotational speed command signal is a signal for adjusting the amount of change of the rotational speed of the engine 4 per unit time. When the first steering mode is selected, the rotation speed command adjustment unit 12 adjusts the amount of change per unit time of the rotation speed of the engine 4 by adjusting the rotation speed command signal. For example, the rotation speed command adjustment unit 12 adjusts the rotation speed command signal so that the amount of change becomes smaller as the load or weight of the ship increases or the depth of the draft increases.

  The control unit 10 may have the maximum change amount setting unit 13. The maximum change amount setting unit 13 sets the maximum change amount of the number of rotations of the engine 4 according to the loading amount, weight, or draft depth of the ship. In this case, the rotation speed command adjustment unit 12 adjusts the rotation speed command signal according to the loading amount, weight or draft depth of the ship, so that the rotation speed of the engine 4 does not exceed the maximum change amount. The amount of change in the rotational speed of the engine 4 is adjusted.

  FIG. 2 is a graph showing the time change of the set rotational speed of the engine 4. In FIG. 2, the second maneuvering mode is selected until the vessel departs and the number of revolutions of the engine 4 reaches the predetermined number of revolutions, and when the number of revolutions of the engine 4 exceeds the predetermined number of revolutions, the first maneuvering mode is selected. Is selected, and when the speed of the ship reaches a speed corresponding to the operation position of the control lever 5, the third control mode is selected.

  When the first steering mode is selected, the amount of change in the number of revolutions of the engine 4 per unit time can be adjusted. The adjustable change amount may be input or selected at the input unit 6, for example, or may be automatically adjusted based on a predetermined condition. The predetermined condition is, for example, the loading capacity, weight or draft depth of the ship. The lighter the loading capacity or weight of the ship, or the shallower the draft, the larger the change in the first maneuvering mode, and the heavier the loading capacity or weight of the vessel, or the greater the draft depth, the first maneuvering mode. It can be considered that the change amount of The heavier the loading capacity or weight of the ship, or the higher the draft depth, the greater the engine load required to rotate the engine 4 at a predetermined rotational speed, and the more fuel is consumed. Therefore, the load on the engine 4 can be reduced and fuel efficiency can be improved by reducing the amount of change in the rotational speed of the engine 4 as the load or weight of the ship is heavier or the depth of the draft is higher. it can.

  FIG. 2 shows an example of the amount of change in rotational speed when the load amount is changed in three ways. The straight lines g1, g2 and g3 in FIG. 2 indicate the changes in the number of revolutions per unit time in the first operation mode of a 50%, 80% and 100% load ship respectively. In the example of FIG. 2, the ship with a 50% load capacity has a larger variation per unit time of the rotational speed of the engine 4 in the first maneuver mode than the ship with an 80% or 100% load capacity. There is. Similarly, a ship with a loading capacity of 80% has a larger amount of change per unit time of the rotational speed of the engine 4 in the first maneuvering mode than a ship with a loading capacity of 100%.

  The amount of change in the number of rotations in the first maneuvering mode for a 50% load ship does not necessarily have to be the straight line g1 in FIG. 2, and can be arbitrarily adjusted within the hatched range in FIG. Therefore, the amount of change may be changed nonlinearly according to time.

  Similarly, the amount of change in the number of rotations in the first maneuvering mode in a ship with a load of 80% does not necessarily have to be the straight line g2 in FIG. 2, and can be arbitrarily adjusted within the hatched range in FIG. Similarly, the amount of change in the number of revolutions in the first maneuvering mode in a 100% load ship does not necessarily have to be the straight line g3 in FIG. 2 and can be arbitrarily adjusted within the hatched range in FIG.

  The straight line at the left end in the hatched range in FIGS. 3 to 5 indicates the maximum allowable change amount of the rotation speed of the engine 4. The larger the loading capacity of the ship, the lower the slope of the maximum change, and the smaller the hatched area. This means that the adjustment range of the amount of change per unit time of the rotational speed becomes narrower as the loading amount of the ship increases.

  The maximum change amount of the rotational speed at each load amount is the maximum change amount that the internal pressure of the engine 4 does not increase excessively. If a change amount larger than the maximum change amount is set, the normal operation of the engine 4 can not be guaranteed, and the life of the engine 4 may be shortened.

  It is desirable that the relative relationship between the loading capacity, weight, or draft depth of the ship and the maximum change amount of the rotational speed of the engine 4 be stored in the data storage unit 8 in advance. Thereby, when the loading amount, weight or depth of the draft of the ship is detected by the draft meter 7, the control unit 10 can extract the maximum change amount according to the detected value from the data storage unit 8. And the control part 10 can set the variation | change_quantity per unit time of the rotation speed of the engine 4 in the range which does not exceed maximum variation | change_quantity.

  As the amount of change in the number of revolutions of the engine 4 per unit time increases, the degree of increase in the number of revolutions increases, and the speed of the ship can be increased in a short time. However, since the number of revolutions of the engine 4 increases in a short time, the fuel consumption is deteriorated. Generally, the amount of fuel consumption is represented by the multiplication of the number of revolutions of the engine 4 and the amount of fuel injection per revolution. Assuming that the fuel injection amount per rotation is constant, the higher the number of revolutions of the engine 4, the larger the amount of fuel consumption.

  There are cases where the ship wants to navigate as fast as possible, and sometimes wants to navigate with less fuel consumption. Therefore, when the mode selection unit 11 selects the first maneuvering mode, either of the speed priority mode (first priority mode) giving priority to the speed and the fuel consumption priority mode (second priority mode) giving priority to the fuel efficiency It may be possible to select one. Note that these two priority modes are merely examples, and another priority mode may be provided, or the priority mode itself may not be provided.

  In the speed priority mode, it is desirable to set the number of rotations of the engine 4 along the solid line at the left end in the hatched range in FIGS. On the other hand, in the fuel consumption priority mode, it is desirable to set the number of rotations of the engine 4 so that the amount of change per unit time of the number of rotations per unit time decreases as much as possible.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the remote control device 1 according to the present embodiment. The process of this flowchart is started when the vessel starts to navigate, and is repeated continuously while the vessel is under way.

  First, the mode selection unit 11 selects the second maneuver mode and starts the engine 4 (step S1). Thereafter, the control unit 10 determines whether the number of revolutions of the engine 4 has become equal to or greater than the first threshold (step S2). The first threshold is the number of revolutions serving as a reference when switching from the second control mode to the first control mode in FIG. The first threshold may be variable. For example, the first threshold may be varied according to the loading capacity, weight, or draft depth of the ship.

  The process remains at step S2 until the number of revolutions of the engine 4 reaches the first threshold, and when it reaches, the mode selection unit 11 selects the first maneuvering mode (step S3). The selection in step S3 may be performed manually or automatically.

  Next, the control unit 10 estimates the loading amount, weight, or draft depth of the ship based on the measurement data from the draft meter 7 (step S4). The process of step S4 may be performed while the second control mode is selected.

  Next, the rotational speed command adjustment unit 12 sets the amount of change per unit time of the rotational speed of the engine 4 by adjusting the rotational speed command signal in accordance with the loading amount, weight, or draft depth of the ship. (Step S5). As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the adjustment range of the amount of change differs depending on the loading amount, weight, or draft depth of the ship. Prepare in advance a table showing the correlation between ship load, weight, or draft depth, and the amount of change per unit time of the engine speed, and store it in the data storage unit 8 or another storage unit In step S5, the adjustment range of the change amount corresponding to the load amount, weight, or draft depth of the ship may be retrieved from the table and extracted.

  Next, the mode selection unit 11 selects either the speed priority mode or the fuel consumption priority mode (step S6). When the speed priority mode is selected, the rotation speed command adjustment unit 12 changes the rotation speed of the engine 4 by adjusting the rotation speed command signal in accordance with the loading amount, weight, or draft depth of the ship. In the adjustment range of the amount, the change amount near or at the maximum change amount is selected (step S7). For example, the amount of change is selected from a straight line representing the maximum amount of change at the left end of the hatched range in FIGS. Then, the rotation speed command adjustment unit 12 increases the rotation speed of the engine 4 with time using the amount of change per unit time of the engine 4 selected in step S7 (step S8).

  On the other hand, when the fuel consumption priority mode is selected, the rotational speed command adjustment unit 12 adjusts the rotational speed command signal in accordance with the loading amount, weight, or draft depth of the ship, to thereby adjust the rotational speed of the engine 4 The right side of the adjustment range of the change amount, that is, the region in which the slope of the change amount is as small as possible is selected (step S9). Then, the rotation speed command adjustment unit 12 increases the rotation speed of the engine 4 with time using the amount of change per unit time of the engine 4 selected in step S9 (step S10).

  The processes of steps S6 to S10 are repeated periodically or irregularly. Thereby, the number of revolutions of the engine 4 gradually increases with time. The amount of change in the number of revolutions of the engine 4 per unit time may be changed linearly according to the time, or may be changed non-linearly according to the time.

  Thereafter, it is determined whether the number of revolutions of the engine 4 has become equal to or greater than a second threshold (step S11). The second threshold is a value determined by the operation position of the control lever 5. The operation position of the control lever 5 represents a target speed, and the number of revolutions of the engine 4 when the ship reaches the target speed is a second threshold.

  If the number of revolutions of the engine 4 is less than the second threshold, the processing of steps S6 to S11 is repeated. When the rotational speed of the engine 4 reaches the second threshold, the mode selection unit 11 selects the third maneuvering mode (step S12). In this third control mode, the rotational speed of the engine 4 is made constant. Thus, the ship will travel at a substantially constant speed.

  In the flowchart of FIG. 6, the speed priority mode or the fuel consumption priority mode is changed after changing the adjustment range of the amount of change per unit time of the number of revolutions of the engine 4 according to the loading capacity, weight or draft of the ship. The final change amount is determined by selecting any of the above, but the process of selecting either the speed priority mode or the fuel consumption priority mode may be omitted. Further, the process of changing the adjustment range of the amount of change in accordance with the loading capacity, weight, or draft depth of the ship is not necessarily essential. The present embodiment is characterized in that the amount of change in the number of revolutions of the engine 4 per unit time is adjusted when the first maneuvering mode is selected, and the factor for adjusting the amount of change is the loading amount of the ship. It is not limited to weight or depth of draft. For example, the adjustment range of the amount of change may be changed according to the magnitude of the ship's swing.

  Thus, in the present embodiment, the rotation speed command signal of the engine 4 obtained based on the difference between the target speed of the ship and the current speed is adjusted according to the load, weight, or draft depth of the ship. Therefore, even if the load amount, weight, and the like of the ship change, it is possible to perform optimal travel control of the ship without imposing a burden on the operator. In particular, in the present embodiment, when the first steering mode is selected, the rotational speed of the engine 4 is adjusted in a range where an extreme load is not applied to the engine 4 in order to adjust the variation of the rotational speed per unit time of the engine 4 Can change. As a result, for example, it is possible to adjust the amount of change according to the load and weight of a ship such as a ship, or to adjust the amount of change depending on which of speed and fuel consumption is prioritized. It is possible to make the ship travel with the intentions in mind.

The aspects of the present invention are not limited to the above-described individual embodiments, but include various modifications that those skilled in the art can conceive, and the effects of the present invention are not limited to the contents described above. That is, various additions, modifications and partial deletions can be made without departing from the conceptual idea and spirit of the present invention derived from the contents defined in the claims and the equivalents thereof.
In the above description, a ship has been described as an example, but the present invention can be applied to other vehicles.

  Reference Signs List 1 remote control device, 2 engine control system, 3 engine controller, 4 engine, 5 control lever, 6 input unit, 7 draft meter, 8 data storage unit, 9 display unit, 10 control unit, 11 mode selection unit, 12 rpm Command adjustment unit, 13 Maximum change amount setting unit

Claims (9)

A speed command unit for commanding a target speed of the ship;
The engine speed command signal adjusted based on the difference between the target speed and the ship's current speed is adjusted according to at least one indicator of ship load, weight, or draft depth. And a remote control device.   The remote control device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation speed command signal is a signal for adjusting an amount of change per unit time of the rotation speed of the engine.   The rotation speed command adjustment unit adjusts the rotation speed command signal so that the change amount becomes smaller as the loading amount or weight of the ship increases or the depth of the draft increases. The remote control device according to 2. A maximum change amount setting unit configured to set a maximum change amount of the rotation speed according to the at least one index;
The said rotation speed command adjustment part adjusts the said rotation speed command signal in the range which does not exceed the maximum variation | change_quantity of the said rotation speed according to the loading amount of the said ship, weight, or the depth of draft. The remote control device according to.   The remote control device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the rotation speed command adjustment unit narrows the adjustment range of the change amount as the load amount or weight of the ship increases. A mode selection unit for selecting one of a first priority mode in which speed is prioritized over the fuel consumption of the ship and a second priority mode in which fuel consumption is prioritized over the speed of the ship;
When the first priority mode is selected, the rotation speed command adjustment unit is configured to make the amount of change of the rotation speed of the engine per unit time larger than when the second priority mode is selected. The remote control device according to claim 5, wherein the rotation speed command signal is adjusted.   When the second priority mode is selected, the rotation speed command adjustment unit is configured to make the amount of change of the rotation speed of the engine per unit time larger than when the first priority mode is selected. The remote control device according to claim 6, wherein a rotation speed command signal is adjusted, and a fuel injection amount of the engine is controlled to be constant. The mode selection unit is configured to adjust the change amount of the engine speed per unit time until the target speed is reached, or the change amount of the engine speed per unit time is constant. It is possible to select the second operation mode to be
The mode selection unit can select the first priority mode or the second priority mode when selecting the first steering mode.
When the second steering mode is selected, the rotation speed command adjustment unit changes the rotation speed of the engine per unit time without depending on the load, weight or draft depth of the ship. The remote control device according to claim 6, wherein the rotational speed command signal is adjusted to be constant. The second maneuvering mode is selected when the vessel is traveling within a predetermined range from the port,
The remote control device according to claim 8, wherein the first maneuvering mode is selected when the vessel is sailing from a port out of the predetermined range.

Images